The Tropolitan has obtained emails, a list of work orders and materials presented to the chancellor that prove there has been consistent communication about safety hazards and health concerns in Malone Hall for years – despite a lack of implemented solutions and claims from officials that they were unaware of the severity of the issues.
Troy University deans took part in an annual Chancellor’s Briefing on Jan. 30, where Dr. Michael Thrasher, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, spoke about the state of Malone Hall to an audience that included Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Senior Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs Dr. Jim Bookout, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Kerry Palmer, and several other faculty and staff.
The presentation included seven photos from Malone Hall, including a photo of mushrooms growing in the black box theater, a missing ceiling tile, broken gutters and one moldy and severely rotten ceiling tile.
Thrasher’s presentation also asked for the university to address these facility needs, citing a significant leakage and moisture problem.
This presentation was given eight months before a rotted ceiling tile fell while a class was in session, just a few feet from where students were working, prompting the Tropolitan to publish the first article about Malone Hall’s condition on Sept. 26, detailing multiple safety and health concerns in the building.
The Tropolitan has also recently obtained emails showing communication between the Physical Plant and Malone Hall staff being exchanged even years before.
More than 20 emails dating back to 2022 establish a consistent pattern of documented concern.
One email claimed that in response to a leak threatening to ruin thousands of dollars of equipment, the Physical Plant’s solution to a second request for help was to use a larger trash can to catch the water. In an email documenting a separate incident, a faculty member explained the best Physical Plant could do to help with a leak in the main office was to balance a larger trash can on top of a smaller trash can to catch dripping water – a solution that failed and damaged files and office supplies.
An email sent to Thrasher on Aug. 3, 2022, from a departmental staff member, spoke of a company based in Panama City, Florida, that sent three inspectors to examine the roof of Malone Hall. The email said the inspectors referred to Malone Hall’s roof as “by far the worst and most critical” on campus.
The email also indicated that this company quoted a new roof estimate to be “seven figures,” but the roof would last more than 20 years.
“The roof is completely saturated and the water is not evaporating off or draining off,” the email read. “There is tremendous weight on the structure of the building due to all the water sitting up there.
“There is a section that has standing water and another section that has a large ‘field of moss’ growing on it.”
That “field of moss” was one of the seven pictures presented in Thrasher’s briefing to the chancellor this year – meaning it has been an issue for at least a year and five months.
On Aug. 24, 2022, Thrasher sent an email to Matt Tice, Troy University’s former executive director of facility operations, requesting help testing for potential stachybotrys – black mold – that was suspected in multiple areas of the building.
The email chain shows Tice confirmed the test was done, but just in one room, and the tiles and ceilings were cleaned. On Sept. 9, 2022, Tice responded to say the conditions were not toxic.
“That's not to say there wasn't microflora growth in the room,” Tice wrote. “Mold spores are in the exterior air and since we draw outside air into the building those same spores are in the building.
“In this location they found moisture and a cellulose material to grow upon (the ceiling tiles).”
Several emails refer to a strong smell of mold. One faculty member emailed Thrasher on Dec. 15, 2022, saying “What we are experiencing is detrimental to our ability to do our work . . . I am not exaggerating when I share that Malone is an unhealthy, unattractive, and, I fear, an unsafe space to work . . . I stop just short of pleading for help from the university. We are in an untenable situation.”
That same day, Thrasher sent those concerns in an email to Dr. Lance Tatum, a former senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Bookout about damage caused by a significant rain, saying, “Our Physical Plant friends are doing the best they can, but rainwater leaks are seriously impeding our ability to do basic functions . . . I'm not sure that the situation will be sustainable, and our folks are having a very difficult time.”
On the same day, Bookout responded, adding Robert Burkey, the current executive director of facility operations, to the email chain.
“I will ask Robert [Burkey] to opine and realize Malone history of deterioration (as we start the annex to the IAC the plan is to demolish Malone) and the need for short term solution,” Bookout wrote. “It’s not much comfort, but we have leaks all over campus with such rain, especially at University Park, and hopefully these torrential storms are far and few between.
“At this point, we are in a patch and hope situation . . .”
Despite mentioning demolishing Malone Hall and expanding the International Arts Center in this 2022 email, no plans have formally been proposed to do so. At the most recent Troy University Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 24, 2024, a list of six building priorities were listed, expecting to spend $58 million in four years. There was no mention of Malone Hall or any of the buildings that would house its departments.
While Burkey was involved in these 2022 emails, a report made by WAKA Channel 8 news on Oct. 3, 2024, quotes Burkey as claiming Troy University’s Physical Plant did not have knowledge of the severity of issues in Malone Hall.
“We weren’t fully aware,” Burkey said in the television interview. “There were things that we hadn’t seen on a request.
“We looked back at all the requests, finding out what is going on. They weren’t there, so we been out there, trying to find everything that was reported.”
However, The Tropolitan has obtained evidence of more than 70 work orders issued between 2022 and 2024 – only a portion of work tickets placed in that time. The software the university’s Physical Plant used to receive work tickets changed in 2022, making earlier information inaccessible.
Sixteen of the work requests were related to leaking, and the tickets contain descriptions such as “dire,” “very bad” and “numerous.”
A work ticket entered on Sept. 26, 2022, mentioned a fallen ceiling tile in Room 121. A work ticket on Jan. 1, 2023, mentioned black mold and mildew. On March 28, 2023, a work ticket mentioned mold and bird excrement. On Jan. 29, 2024, concern was raised about exposed electrical wiring. A ticket on July 17, 2024, said three people were stung due to the presence of dozens of wasps.
Other inaccuracies in WAKA’s report include the statement that “most” of the damage in Malone Hall was caused by a tree falling and grazing the building.
When presented with evidence of previous documentation of the problems of Malone Hall, Troy University released a statement to the Tropolitan that reads, in part, as follows:
“Troy University continues to take substantial steps to resolve issues recently brought to our attention at Malone Hall. All efforts to improve and clean up building conditions are being employed. Each room has been inspected and cleared of visual issues.
“In addition, repairs have begun on the exterior, especially the roof, and roofing contactors (sic) have been scheduled to address issues related to frequent leaking problems. Short-term solutions are essential, and a number of long-term solutions are under consideration.”
Greg Skaggs, chair of the Department of Art and Design, said Malone Hall has been in bad condition since he began working there in 2005 – nearly 20 years ago. Further, he previously told the Tropolitan that he has been asking for help for years.
“I have made several presentations to upper administration related to the vision of art and design and the future of our program, as well as the state of our facilities,” Skaggs said. “I have presented annotated photos of the state of Malone to the dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts [Thrasher] – to which he has been a strong advocate for the health and well-being of our students and faculty.
“My hope is that the university sees the value that the visual arts, as well as theater and dance, adds to the overall health and enrichment to Troy University. We have a phenomenal faculty and with support, Troy University could be the finest Visual Arts program in the region. No doubt.”
The University’s full statement appears with the graphic accompanying this article.
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